The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1887-12-03
A DETECTIVES STORY.
How He Was Convicted and Sent
to State Prison.

In my profession as a detective
have often been asked if | believed
in the virtue of circumstantial evi.
dcncc. In every instance | have repliee
in the affirmative. While the profes
sion may make aman hard-hearted ane
anxious to convict, it is nevertheless ;
certain fact that a complete chain 0:
circumstautial evidence against a crlm'
inal will settle his case sooner than hal
a dozen respectable witnesses. Law
vers can bruWbeat and confuse wit
nesses, and the yeracity of 4 witness
can be slurred OF impeachcd. but when
You strike against 4 circumstance it is
not SO easy to step over it or explain it
away.
Many years AGO, when | was a young
man of eighteen, | ran away from my
uncle. to whom | was apprenticed. He
had Il farm near Liverpool, Medina
County. O., and he was a man who had
not one iot Of pity for or mercy on man
and animal. His wife lived in mortal
fear of him. and q look from him would
make his children tremble. Our fam
lily lived a hundred miles away, and
we knew little or nothing of Uncle
Jabcz. He came ont on Il visit, seemed
to take a liking to me, and he gave my
father one hundred dollars to appren-
ticc rue for three years. liked farm
work, and as Uncle Jabcz was on his
good behavior while visiting US, l was
by no means opposed to the arrange
ment. No sooner had we arrived at
his home than he became q tyrant and
slave-driver. ! was overworked, half
fed, scolded and maltreated, and one
night, after the promise Of good
licking in the morning, tied up my
few personal effects, dropped from my
chamber window and set out for Clcve-
land. Uncle Jabez was q nan who
would demand his pound of flesh and
more. II | returned home he would
follow on and make me a captive. As
soon as he missed me he would raise a
great hue and cry over the county, and
l felt that my only safe course was to
reach some large city and lose myself
in the mass.
The farm was twenty-five miles from
Cleveland. | could have walked the
distance in seven hours, as it was a
cool autumn night and the roads were
good, but for the first ten miles | did
not dare use the highway. Teams
were coming and going, and farmers
moving about, and | wanted to cover
my tracks from Uncle Jabcz. With
the difficulties in my path l did not
enterC Cleveland until aboutnine O'Clock
next morning. had not yet reached
the business portion and | was walking
in the middle Of the street, country
fashion, when | made Il rich find. In
the dust lay three diamond rings, two
ladies watch chains and several charms
and lockcts. They were scattered
about rs if they had fallen from some
vehicle passing over the road. Ipickcd
them up, of course, and there being no
one near me | continued on my way.
had never found any thing of value
in my life before, and | did not know
exactly how to proceed. | knew, Of
course, that | had no right to the prop
crty, nor did | have the remotest in
tcntion Of converting it to my use.
The trouble was that | did not know
exactly what course to take, being but
ayoung, green boy. AT home ! would
have Gon" TO my father or n neighbor,
but under present circumstances | was
puzzled. had heard of policemen,
but never saw one. | finally made up
my mind to accost the first n ! met
and ask him what to do.
About four squares beyond where !
had found the jewclry ] stopped at a
German grocery TO ask for n drink of
water. There was boy about fourteen
years old in the store and he told me
to go around the side way to Il pen
stock. | was drinking, when a dog
rushed at me and was 50 determined to
bite me that had to keep him off with
my feet. The German and his wife
rushed out and attacked me and as |
got ont Of the gate a policeman came
up and seized me. There had
been row enough to collect quite
a crowd, and all were against me.
TIE officers asked who | was, where /
came from and where | was going.
II had returned him prompt answers
he might have let me 90, but l did not
dare tell him that | was II runaway for
fear he would return me to Uncle
Jabcz. | therefore refused to answer
him. and he naturally concluded l was
a suspicious character, and took me to
the station. As | was rcpistcred they